or" 




COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 



EVERYBODY 



SWIMMEF 



BY 



/ 

THOMAS COYLE, 

it 7 

The Champion Swimmer of America. 

CONTAINING FULL INSTRUCTIONS HOW TO L,? 
SWIM, TOGETHER WITH INCIDENTS IN 
CAREER OF THE AUTHOR. 



CHESTF 

MELVILLE & HAAS, B( 

1 



COPYRIGHTED BY 

THOMAS COYLE 

1884. 





EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. 



I will guarantee that every man, woman, and child, that 
reads this book and is guided by it will be able to go into the 
water and commence to swim, whether they ever swam a stroke 
or not. This will instruct them when to go into the water, 
how long to stop in, what to drink, what to do when they conie 
out, when to look out for sharks, when a person is in shark 
parts, &c. 

To be a good swimmer is to have an accomplishment a per- 
son may feel proud of. It is a luxury worth possessing and very 
simple and easily acquired, and once learned is something a 
person can never forget. If a person learns it in boyhood and 
never practice it during his maturity ; and in doting old age he 
falls overboard he will strike out with confidence and with the 
same skill that he did in boyhood. 

I have for years back wondered how people with eyes to see 
could be so careless about not possessing such a valuable ac- 
complishment. And if we look at it right it looks as if the 
head of a family is acting the "penny wise and pound foolish" 
in not instructing his boys and girls, or have them instructed, 
in the art. Parents will spend hundreds of dollars on their 
children for other accomplishments and what does it all amount 
to if by some mishap they tumble into deep water and no one 
at hand to rescue them? Why, they drown with all their col- 
lege and high school accomplishments. Parents may say to 
themselves I will not allow my children to go near the water, 
then there is no danger. Ah! but how often are parents dis- 



6 EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. 

tressed and mortified on finding their darlings brought home 
a, corpse (drowned) when they were pretty sure that their chil- 
dren were playing about the back yard, or in the the neigh- 
borhood of the barn. I say girls as well as boys, for I think 
it just as necessary for a girl to learn to swim as a boy, for girls 
will sometimes go in water in small row boats, on excursions, 
&c. You have but to look back a few months ago at that sad 
accident to the Princess Alice, in the English channel, where so 
many hundred women were enjoying themselves on an excur- 
sion and without scarcely a moment's warning were sent into 
eternity. Now had those women been able to make a few 
strokes and kept themselves afloat a few minutes they would 
have all been saved. When there is a wreck or an explosion 
of a vessel, with all men aboard, a great many of those men 
will save themselves by catching on to something or other; but 
a woman, if she has not learned to swim, will make no effort 
to save herself. Now out of the four or five hundred women 
on board of that ill-fated vessel one woman was saved, she hav- 
ing learned to swim along with her brothers while a child. 

In Sweden every child, girl or boy, is taught to swim as part 
of their physicial education, which they value so high in that 
country. In France, too, the greater part of the women learn 
to swim. But England leads off far head of all nations in that 
respect, having a large number of swimming schools, and 
clubs, both public and private. There is the London school 
swimming club, the object of which is to instruct the scholars 
and teachers in the swimming art. The rich and educated 
there take great interest in the art, while in this country that 
class takes no interest in it. They seem to think it beneath 
their notice. They are satisfied as long as they can turn out 
in a fine equipage of their own. Is it any wonder that so few 
learn to swim in this country? Why, a girl or a woman at the 
seaside here that can swim is sure to attract a great deal of at- 
tention and curiosity. This country should lead off ahead of 



EVERYBODY A SWIMMER, 7 

all others in that respect, with its miles of seacoast, its many 
lakes, and numerous rivers, the art of swimming should be 
more general. The exercise is healthful and pleasant, and in- 
volves no necessary risk. People, then, should not delay acquir- 
ing so simple and easy an accomplishment. Do not postpone 
it until it is too late. 

Now, throw any kind of an animal into the water and it will 
strike out for dear life and will swim for miles. Some people 
put great -stress on the fact that some good swimmers are 
drowned. That is very true, but it is principally their own 
fault in risking too much without any necessity, over-estimat- 
ing: their powers of endurance, or, if dumped overboard with 
all their clothing on, by not going to work and stripping off 
their heavy clothing, and shoes or boots, when they know that 
they have a considerable distance to swim in order to save 
themselves. Very few persons, even good swimmers, ever try 
the experiment of swimming with their clothes on, particularly 
a heavy pair of boots. If they should try it once they would 
be convinced of the great necessity of getting out of their 
clothes the first thing on being clumped overboard in deep 
water where there was any considerable distance to swim. It 
is an easy matter for a person to strip off everything on first 
falling into the water. They could do it easier beneath the 
surface of the water than by trying to keep their head above 
the surface. Again, swimmers sometimes venture out a great^ 
way and take the cramp, or get into too rough a water, or a 
'chop sea that will bother the best of swimmers. I will explain 
how to prevent taking the cramps farther on. As well might 
those persons say there is no use in eating (for I have known 
people to kill themselves at that), as to prate about an old 
swimmer getting drowned, for when such occurs, everybody is 
taken by surprise. Very often those men are so drunk that 
they cannot stretch out a hand to save themselves. It is a lux- 
ury to be used, and not abused. A man in the water is out of 



8 EVERYBODY A SWIMMER, 

his element, and should be very cautious about going into deep 
water a great distance from shore without some assistance at 
hand; that has always been my motto. For the first few times 
a person goes in bathing of a season, they should be very care- 
ful about going far out into deep water, for it is before a per- 
son gets seasoned to the water that they are apt to take the 
cramps. To prevent cramps in the calf of the leg, the princi- 
pal place it fs generally taken in, before entering the water is 
to tie a small cord around just below the knee, and only tight 
enough to prevent it falling oft' altogether. About six laps of 
cotton twine is about the best, for it will tighten up as the flesh 
shrinks up with the water. Some will tell you that eel skin is 
the best; it may be but it is more apt to slip off than cotton 
string, something about three-eighths of an inch thick is the 
thing. Children should be taught to swim at an early age, say 
from seven to twelve; a stout hearty child can be taught at 
seven, but many a child is not strong enough until about twelve 
years old. There should be more of a chance given to girls to 
learri, boys can go out most anywhere along the creeks and 
dams, but girls where will they go to learn? Every city and 
village should have swimming schools for girls, it would not 
cost much money to rig up swimming places. In the absence 
of such places girls should club together in strong force and 
find themselves a suitable place, and give the boys to under- 
stand that they have rights which the boys are bound to re- 
spect. 

The season for swimming in the Middle States is but very 
short, not three months in the most favorable summer. It is 
surprising the number of men who follow the water for a liv. 
Log that cannot swim. A mis-step about the side of the vessel 
on a dark night sends a great many of that class to a watery 
grave; they tumble overboard and that is generally the last of 
them. Yet, if you say anything to them while living about 
the importance of learning to swim, they will laugh at you and 



EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. j9 

tell you that good swimmers are as likely to get drowned . There 
is not one swimmer drowned, for every fifty of those drowned- 
If it was something that cost a large sum of money to secure it, 
there would be some excuse for the poor people, but as it is 
there is no excuse for rich or poor, it is within ready reach of 
all. How nice it is for one to be self -trustworthy in time of 
danger, what an amount of dread and fear is avoided. See 
that party just getting into a boat for a sail on the river; the 
person that cannot swim gets into the boat with a faltering 
step, and you can usually hear them tell the captain of the boat 
in a faltering tone to be careful for they cannot swim a 
stroke. Picture to yourself the dread of such a one while out 
sailing, should it spring up a little rough, fearing that an ex- 
tra heavy squall should strike the boat and upset her when he 
would expect nothing else but be drowned. On the other hand 
look at the good swimmer going off on a sail; he goes with a 
light heart, for what fear has he if the boat upset or not, he 
could paddle about until picked up by a passing boat or swim 
ashore. There is a time when even good swimmers should be 
very cautious about undertaking to swim a great distance,*that 
is when the water is cold and chilly. Even a fish in right cold 
has not half the life in it that it has in warm water, and how 
can a man expect to swim far when the water is cold enough 
to chill him through? Shad fishermen fish with their old nets 
early in the spring, for they say an old net is as good then as a 
new one, but late in the season when the water gets warm they 
have to put out their new nets to stop the rapid progress of the 
shad that would otherwise pass through an old net when the 
water is warm. 

Now to learn to swim I will lay down several ways for the 
learner to go by, as every one cannot learn the same way. I 
will commence with the stout hearty person first who is not 
afraid to do as I tell him (or her,) and as you see by taking 
my advice you cannot get drowned, even though jio one. is nigh.. 



10 EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. 

But I would advise learners to always go in company with oth- 
ers if possible while learning. The first thing for a learner is 
to find a place where there is shallow water, say from two to 
four feet for a grown person, and about two feet for boys. 
Find a place where the bottom is even and where it does not 
break off into deep holes, so that there is no danger of getting 
over your head until you have learned to swim a few strokes. 
When stripped off do not loiter long in the air but wade in and 
dip down under the surface of the water, head and all, holding 
your breath of course while under; this being done you will 
have passed through the most disagreeable part of bathing, 
meeting the shock that one experiences in going into the water 
at first. Now wade out up to your breast, then turn towards 
shore, inflate your lungs, put your two hands together and 
make a plunge under the surface of the water and strike out 
for shore taking care to hold your breath while under. You 
will find, though you may never have swam a stroke, that when 
under the surface of the water you are very light, and in- 
stead of sinking deeper, as you would imagine, you will rise 
towards the top almost in spite of yourself. You must use 
your hands pretty much as oars of a boat, right backwards and 
clown towards the* hips, drawing your feet together and kick- 
ing out at the same instant, giving full spread to both hands 
and feet. Keep repeating the motion and you will find that it 
is no trouble to swim under the surface of the water. The 
great fault with a great part of the learners is that they try to 
swim in the air instead of the water; the arms and legs must 
be worked well under, the legs about at an angle of thirty-five 
degrees, the head thrown back on the shoulders, not down in 
front as is the habit of beginners. Finding that you can swim 
under the surface with ease, you will now try it on the surface, 
wading out until the water is up to your breast and then strik- 
ing in towards the shore. Do not exert yourself to keep high 
out of the water. It is only an expert swimmer that can swim 



EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. 11 

high out of the water, and when going at a rapid rate I learn- 
ed myself first by diving under a few times as above. I found 
out that it was no trouble to swim under the surface, but, while 
down all covered up something seemed to force me towards the 
top in spite of myself . The above is the quickest way to learn; 
there are several other ways that a person may learn, such as get- 
ting a board and laying on it and paddling with the hands 
and feet, until the stroke is learned; another way is to t?et 
corks, fasten them on a piece of rope about two feet long, put 
the rope under your breast and let the corks come around on 
top of your back, and you will find that by using your hands 
and feet as above indicated you can swim with ease. If you 
go into the water and throw your head back on your shoulders 
and strike out with merely your nostrils out of the water to 
breathe through, you will find that you do not need much to 
buoy you up. A small piece of board or about twenty-five 
corks such as shad fishermen use fixed as above on a strap or 
rope two feet long or so, is sufficient for any one to learn with. 
Those «who are not afraid to take my advice about diving un- 
der in shallow and smooth water and striking for shore need 
no boards or corks, but I know that there are a great many that 
have not the courage to do that, but all such will have to take 
the round about way to learn. Once a person gets able to 
make about a half-dozen strokes the road is easy and clear, 
and it only requires a little practice after that to become a good 
swimmer. A new beginner should be very cautious about 
venturing where there is a strong surf. Along the sea coast 
learners should practice and learn in smooth water, such as 
creeks or dams, for it takes a powerful swimmer to manage 
the undertow sometimes along the coast. It takes a person to 
be able to swim high up on the surface so as to avoid the un- 
dertow. Still another good way is to rest 
or plank and work your hands under ,it, In striking out 
your hands bring them together at every stroke, fingers closed, 



12 EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. 

and the hand a little hallowed. It is best for you to throw 
yourself a little on one side or the other. You will find that 
you can swim with more ease on your side, also go along con- 
siderable faster by swimming on your side and letting your 
head lay on the water. The water serves as a pillow to the 
head. A man swimming high out of the water cannot swim 
near as far as the man who lays low and rests his head on the 
water. You may ask, how can a person rest his head on the 
water while swimming ? Any good swimmer will tell you that 
by swimming on his side with his head low he can get along 
with more ease than by trying to hold his head a half foot out 
of the water. 

Having learned to swim, there may be times that a person 
may have to swim high to keep from drowning, such as when 
passing through where there is what may be termed a chop 
sea. A great many good swimmers are drowned in a heavy 
chop sea. A chop sea is formed by a rapid current passing- 
some head land, wharf, etc. The sea strikes you in the face 
nearly every second, and a person is apt to take in water in 
spite of himself, and get strangled, not being able to breathe. 
I do not care how high the waves are running that I am swim- 
ming in; by diving through them, or raising yourself on top, 
you can secure a breathing gpelL But in chop sea you have 
a poor chance to breathe, for at every breath you are apt to 
take in water. 

There is another good stroke every one should try and learn 
after accomplishing the breast stroke, that is the over hand, or 
what used to be termed the Johnson stroke. Not the overhand 
that most people practice, throwing themselves alternately 
from one side to the other at every other stroke, but the keep- 
ing on one side for a considerable distance at a time. It is ac- 
complished as follows: Thro w ' yourself on your right or left 
side as you choose; the hand that comes under throw forward 
directly ahead of you, at the same time kicking out with 



EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. 13 

both feet; bring the hand back underneath your hip, using 
it as a paddle. Now bring up the arm that is on top, with 
fingers closed, the palm of the hand a little hollow, throw it 
as far forward as you can and bring it back with force in front 
of your body, at the same time kick out as before with both 
feet. In this stroke you only use one hand at a time and kick 
out with the feet each time you use either hand. This stroke 
has more speed in it and less exertion than the breast stroke, 
but cannot be used so well in rough water, for a person using 
the over-hand must swim low. It is the best stroke for another 
reason, for it keeps the head cool, thereby keeping the temper- 
ature of the body more even. The best stroke is had on a hot 
day, the head out of the water and in the hot sun, causing the 
body to get cool and the blood running to the head, while it is 
policy to keep the head cool as well as the body. For that rea- 
son a person should always enter the water by diving in head 
foremost; that is provided he is a good swimmer, and acquaint- 
ed with the place he is going into. A person should be very 
cautious about how they dive in where they are not acquainted 
with the place. A learner should on going into the water lay 
down on their stomach, on reaching two or three feet of water 
dip head and all under, not go in as many do and never wet 
the head at all. Boys have a very bad practice of going in bath- 
ing during the heat of the day, aud remaining in sometimes 
for hours at a time; when they should go in early in the morn- 
ing or after sun-down in the evening, and then only stop in 
from five to fifteen minutes at a time. Not until they get 
shivering and shaking with the cold, to probably be thrown 
into a spell of sickness, or consumption. While a little of the 
water is good, too much is worse than none at all. 

The Turkish bath is very good occassionally for a certain 
class of people, chief of whom are the stout, corpulant persons, 
particularly if they want some of their surplus flesh off of them. 
Men about to enter heavy contests frequently take them. It 



14 EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. 

is about the quickest and easiest way of getting rid of soft flesh. 
Going into this almost baking hot room at first, there swettecl 
until you swet about half a gallon, then going into another 
room where you have first hot water run over you, then it grad- 
ually gets cooler, then lay down on a board or table, to be 
washed and rubbed down. After getting through that process, 
plunging into a tank of cold water. If after getting out of 
that your nose is any way stopped up, you are led to what is 
called the steam room, and allowed to remain there as lf>ng as 
you like, keeping your mouth closed and breathing through 
your nostrils. You cannot stay there over three or four min- 
utes, when you take the second plunge into the cold water 
tank and get out to be rubbed dry, when you can dress and 
take your leave. 

Persons going on excursions, and expecting to go in bathing 
on reaching the seashore, should be very cautious about drink- 
ing spirituous liquors, for some how or other they will not mix 
well together. A little malt liquor sometimes will not hurt, 
but spirituous liquor is very apt to chill you as soon as you en- 
ter the water. I have tested it often when working about the 
water, diving, &c, and invariably found that after drinking 
spirituous liquors I could not stand the water long. When I 
want to make a long stay at diving now, I either abstain alto- 
gether or take a glass or two of ale, and while in the water if 
I take anything it is ale. A little good brandy is said to be 
good in the water, and I believe it is, provided you get brandy, 
but where will you get it ? If you go to the average hotel keeper 
and call for brandy, you will get flavored (liquors) whiskey, 
which you are better without. The liquor sold at most of the 
watering places is not fit to drink at all. They do not ex- 
pect the same parties back again during the season, and con- 
sequently so it is something in shape of whiskey it is all right. 
Of course, there are a few well-meaning liquor sellers, but they 
are but few. For any article like liquor that is sold, that the 



EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. 15 

people know so little about, whether it is good or bad, they 
are apt to take advantage of it. Everyone wants to make mon- 
ey fast now-a-days. It don't matter so they make it. It ap- 
pears that the liquor traffic is what attracts the attention of 
unprincipled men that wants to get rich fast. For where any- 
thing like an honest man would pay about two dollars and 
a half per gallon for the liquor that they pass over their bar 
for ten cents per drink, the greater portion will only pay about 
one, or one twenty-five per gallon, and charge ten cents a drink 
for it. 

After bathing if you feel chilly a cup or two of hot coffee is 
good, or a drink or two of porter or ale. Also a brisk walk to 
start the blood in full circulation. Bathing very late at night 
is not good for them, for the air is cool and a person is very 
apt to get chilled through, then probably go to bed to get up 
next morning with a bad cold settled on their lungs which it 
may take months to get rid of. The reader must not look on 
me as a temperance advocate altogether, I only wish to inter- 
est persons that is about to go bathing, to tell them what is 
good for them on such occasions and what is not. I have sold 
considerable liquor in my time and know whereof I speak. 
And then I have experimented with different drinks while 
working about the water. I find out that to be able to make 
any considerable stay in it of a day I have to abstain from all 
spirituous liquors before entering it, for some how or other 
they do not mix well. 

Swimming matches in this country do not pay any one, 
without it ia the hotel keeper where it takes place; for, as a 
general thing, those who profess to be swimmers are poor men 
and the races that do take place are for nothing more than a 
few dollars paid by these hotel keepers. And very often they 
back out of paying what they promise after the race is over. 
You read of a match coming off for two hundred and fifty or 
five hundren dollars, and in reality there is not over twenty- 



16 EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. 

five dollars in it. Swimming does not seem to attract the at- 
tention it should in this country some how. The only tunc 
there was any great interest taken in it, was in 1875, when 
myself and J. B. Johnson swam for the championship of the 
world, from Chester, Pa., to Gloucester, New Jersey. Then the 
whole country seemed to be interested; even people who scarcely 
ever take any notice of sporting matters in general were very 
much interested in that great race of thirteen miles. Mr. 
Johnson came to this country as the champion of the world at 
that time. He had been a professional in England for years 
before, having won a great number of races there. He was 
what might be termed a water duck, for he followed it winter 
and summer, exhibiting in a glass tank at theatres and 
other places, eating, drinking and writing while under the 
surface of the water, and stopping under as long as three min- 
utes and forty seconds. He was a powerful built man, twenty- 
Bine years old, weighing about one hundred and eighty pounds, 
while I was thirty-five years old, and weighed when I swam 
him one hundred and twenty-five pounds. Still, notwithstand- 
ing the great difference between us in every respect, I could 
not let him leave this country (as he was about to do,) without 
giving him a trial, although I had never swam a race in my 
life, as swimming in this country up to that time had been. 
but little thought of. Since that time it is picking up a little. 
Who has not seen boys in every quarter of the country since, 
.acting Coyle and Johnson by having short spurts while in 
bathing? 

The great race came off on July 22nd, 1875. And never be- 
fore or since was such a great throng of people assembled on 
the Delaware river at any one time. And Gloucester, New 
Jersey, was what might be termed crammed. There never 
was such a throng in Gloucester before or since, as on that day. 
Fifty thousand people is a low estimate of the number there 
,that day.. The Centennial Hotel, as it is called, took in over a 



EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. 17 

thousand dollars at the different bars. The same place took in 
four or five hundred dollars every Sunday. While I was there 
they would average about twenty-five or thirty-five dollars per 
Sunday in general. And as incredible as it may appear, 
after being the means of making several thousand dollars for 
those two men that kept that place, when the wind-up came 
they cheated me out of my weekly pay of fifteen dollars. I 
drew about one week's pay; the rest I left lay in their hands 
to get altogether when the swimming would be all over. And 
there it lays yet, with no satisfaction or no promise of it in the 
future. 

Some people have a great dread of sea sharks. So had I at 
one time, but I have changed considerable. I now have more 
dread of land sharks. A poor sea shark, of course, will bite 
you if he comes across you when very hungry, but a land shark 
will bite you every time whether hungry or not; or more plain- 
ly speaking, will rob you whether he is in need or not. So of 
the two kinds of sharks the land shark is about fifty times more 
to be dreaded than the poor sea shark. I speak, "by the 
board," as the saying is. I have been in the water with sea 
sharks and escaped, but to come in contact with a land shark 
without being bitten is next to impossible. 

But I am wandering off the main subject. 1 must come 
back to the great race. Well, the day was all that could be ex- 
pected for a swimming race, and the start was not made at the 
time it should have been but nearly two hours later, because I, 
without thinking what I was about, told my friends that 
whether I beat Johnson or not, one thing they could depend on 
was that I would make the stake boat at Gloucester. Mr. 
Johnson, being informed of that, saw a chance to make a little 
money by betting that neither of us would reach the stake boat 
at Gloucester. I did not have Mr. Johnson bound up as to 
time of starting, and coneequently when it was time to start I 
could not understand why he would not make the start with 



18 EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. 

me in time to make Gloucester by that tide. I stripped myself 
for the water at a late time to make Gloucester, but I could not 
persuade Mr. Johnson to come and make a start for about one 
hour after I had stripped, which made it impossible for either 
of us to reach the stake boat at Gloucester that day. Finally, 
when Mr. Johnson came to the scratch prepared to jump over, 
one of the Pennsylvania line of steamers was approaching 
Chester and we stood for a few moments by the rail of the tug 
boat to allow it to pass. While passing the erreat multitude 
of people assembled at Chester pier there was considerable 
blowing of whistles and cheering indulged in. That being 
over and the outward bound steamer having passed a few hun- 
dred yards we mounted the railing when the words "ready" 
and "go" were given and we started off amid the cheering of 
thousands of people who lined the shore and filled the different 
crafts, the ringing of bells and blowing of several steam 
whistles ; such was the start of the greatest race that has ever 
taken place in this country. Mr. Johnson would sooner have 
lost his life than that race, and as for my part all the money 
that has ever been' coined since the world begun could not have 
bought me that day. But I was green at that kind of business, 
and if they could not buy me, there were others that could be 
bought (and cheap at that,) to make me lose the race. In 
starting it was my intention to take what is known as the 
Western channel, or the Lazaretto channel as it is now known, 
but instead was piloted up the Eastern or main ship channel, 
which was really the best course, starting so late in the tide as 
Ave did. I was piloted all right till near the old Light House, 
(or Block House as commonly called,) opposite Fort Mifflin, 
where unfortunately for me I was run out of the channel in 
close to Monument Wharf and over what is known to sea cap- 
tains, as the coldest place on the Delaware River, full of cold 
springs. Close on to Red Bank I asked the man that was pi- 
loting me where T was, or had I passed the Block House, for I 



EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. 19 

did not take time to look around me. My guide, Captain 
Rudder, answered me by pointing with his left hand towards 
the Block House. I looked in the direction pointed out and 
was mortified to see that the Block House lay to my left, for I 
knew that to be in the right spot for a swimmer after passing 
it, I should have seen it over my right shoulder. However, I 
said nothing but kept on. I was informed at the same time 
that I was two and a half miles ahead of my opponent. About 
this time a small steamer called, I believe, the Isabel, of Phil- 
adelphia, chartered by a few of Mr. Johnson's friends, came up 
to me and seemed to be trying to run me down, for had I not 
swam to one side, it would have done so. They seemed. bent 
on mischief and kept that steamer close at my heels. Now, if 
they had passed on a piece ahead so that I could have fell in 
its wake it would have been a help to me, but the way they 
acted they annoyed me very much. The parties aboard were 
principally New Yorkers and Mr. Johnson's friends. 

It being my first race I forgot one important point, that was 
to dip my head every few minutes, as I was directed to do by 
my medical advisor, Dr. Cardeza, of Claymont, Delaware, 
a. week before the race. He was sick abed at the time and 
there was no one with me to remind.me of it. Consequently, 
when opposite Monument Wharf and two or two and a half 
miles ahead of Mr. Johnson, I took my second drink from the 
time I entered the water at Chester. I became unconscious 
all at once, and was taken out of the water two hours and fif- 
teen minutes from the time J left Chester. Word was quickly 
taken to Mr. Johnson of the state of affairs who continued to 
swim till told to get out by the judges and referee. But those 
parties did not notice how our articles of agreement read. 
They called for the man that came the nearest to the stake boat 
to be the winner. I was on the Jersey side and so was the 
stake boat. Mr. Johnson was in the main channel, or 
Pennsylvania side, and lacked being within half a mile as near 



20 EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. 

the stake boat as I. It took him fifty-two minutes to come up, 
in a direct line, to where I was taken out of the water. Had 
I been piloted up the main or Western channel that day, the 
race would have been mine easily. Everything was in my own 
hands if properly piloted at that place and that stage of the 
tide. Mr. Rudder was an old boat sailor, or boat racer, one of 
the best on the Delaware river. Probably the course he took 
me might have been the best one for a sail boat in a race, as it 
cuts off from a hundred to two hundred yards, but with a 
swimmer it is far different. It is far better for a swimmer to 
go almost double the distance and keep in the channel, or 
where the strong current is, for while a boat skips over the 
surface of the water, a man in the water swimming is down in 
it with his whole body and catches the current strong, if there 
be any. I cannot say but what Mr. Rudder intended well by 
me. The man only lived four days after the race. He took a 
parelytic stroke and died suddenly. 

My getting so far ahead of my opponent and, as it might be 
said, having everything my own way and then to lose the 
race was something that the people in general could not see in" 
to. A great many were under the impression that I sold the 
race, but, there was not money enough in this world to buy me 
that day. It is true that had I retained my consciousness for 
ten minutes longer nothing could have saved Mr. Johnson, for 
ten minutes more would have brought me to Red Bank wharf, 
and Mr. Johnson could not have made it that day, for the ebb 
tide would have struck him. As ft stands to-day that race is 
mine. It is a question whether Mr. Johnson could have swam 
across the river with the ebb tide setting against him, and in 
his played-out condition. However, he was awarded the race. 

About three o'clock next morning I recovered and the first 
question I asked those sitting about me, at the Surf House, 
Gloucester, was who won the race, for I knew that I was two 
or two and a half miles ahead of Mr. Johnson the last I knew 



EVERYBODY A SW1MMEK. 21 

of anything. T was told by the doctor who waited on me that 
when taken out of the water my pulse beat thirty-three strokes 
to the minute. So I lost the greatest race that probably ever 
took place in this country, for very nearly all places of business 
were closed on that day, and all that could get aboard of a craft 
of any kind were on the river with their bands of music. It 
was generally supposed that I was drugged when I took that 
second drink, and I kind of thought so myself at the time ; 
but my experience in the water since has led me to know that 
it could occur without being drugged. After being over two 
hours in the water, using all my powers of exertion swimming, 
as it were, for dear life, and without dipping my head once 
during that long swim from Chester to Red Bank, on a very 
hot day, it was enough to send a rush of blood to the head ; 
and taking the second drink, of course, hurried the thing up. 
When I look back at the thing now I am surprised that I did 
so well, it being my first race and without any training. It is 
true I swam a little every day, but otherwise I was doing just 
the opposite of training. Some people would recommend one 
thing and some another in the way of drinks, and I did pretty 
much as directed by pretended friends. 

Our first race not being satisfactory, another was arranged 
to take place about four weeks later, or on the 24th day of 
August, 1875. It was to be from Lazaretto to Gloucester, 
This race Mr. Johnson trained very hard for, while I went 
backwards in training. Having no trainer I was eating and 
drinking just what I ought not to touch; and to top off all, 
on the day of the race and just before starting I rubbed coca- 
nut butter all over me twice, it being recommended by a friend, 
as he professed to be. He was a clerk in a Philadelphia store, 
aboutNinth and Chestnut streets, right among Mr. Johnson's 
Mends. It would be just what I would rub on myself now if 
I wanted to fix myself so that I could not swim. After swim- 
ming four or five miles it brought a chill on me so that I had 



22 EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. 

to get out of the water at once, but Johnson swam to Gloucester. 

Our third and last race took place on the 12th of October of 
the same year. It was a four mile race. Then, for the first 
time there was a trainer appointed by Mr. Thompson, whose 
hotel I trained at. During the two months previous I had been 
stopping at the Centennial Hotel kept by William Brooks and 
Michrel Hagerty. They treated me well during the time I 
was there but I had not collected my weekly pay of fifteen dol- 
lars, and consequently lost it altogether, for when 1 left there 
to train at Mr. Thompson's hotel it angered them so much that 
they refused to pay me. I have since received ten dollars from 
Mr. Brooks, who assured me that if Hagerty was the right kind 
of a man it would have been different. 

Mr. Thompson placed me in charge of Samuel Collier, ex- 
champion of light weights, one week before the race, and I 
must say Sam put me in good trim for such a short time. It 
was then I saw the benefit of having a good trainer. Mr. 
Johnson did not seem to be pleased with my going into train- 
ing, for he tried to make ill feeling between me and Collier. 

Not until this third and last race did I see what a great 
advantage Mr. Johnson had over me by using his over-hand 
stroke. When we started off for two or three {hundred yards 
he used the breast stroke, and while he used it we went side by 
side; but as soon as he began the overhand he walked away 
from me. Then I saw when too late the main cause of my de- 
feat. I also got Collier to rub me down before starting with 
more of that cocanut butter, but the race being short and the 
day a fine one it did not take such effect as on the second race. 
Idid not know at the time that it was the cocanut butter that 
brought on the chill, but I know now. It stops the pores in 
short order. A man needs his pores open in the water, so that 
he can sweat freely, the same as on dry land. That may sound 
strange to most people, but nevertheless it is true that a man 
sweats in the water when using threat exertion. Of course, a 



EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. 23 

person does not feel himself sweating on account of the water, 
being cooler than the blood. I have got out of the water after 
using considerable exertion and found myself sweating freely. 

If you are in shark quarters, when the water is very calm is 
the time that the sharks are on the forage, and you had better 
look out for yourself. It appears that during very rough 
weather they seek some place where they can be out of the 
roughness. They either sink to the bottom in deep water for 
that purpose, or into some hole where the sea is not so rough- 
During the four years I was out in the Navy, and about when 
sharks were plenty, we never could see any of them around the 
ship on a rough day. It is singular that.no matter how 
numerous they are, they will not trouble swimmers if a large 
crowd goes in bathing and keeps close together. They seem 
to be great cowards in that respect. While they will make for 
a single person in quick order, they have a great dread of num- 
bers. I remember while on the frigate Wabash, lying on the 
blockade off Charleston, S. C, during 1867, of frequently going 
into swim off of the ship with several hundred men at a time 
and not one person was ever disturbed, although sharks were 
very plentiful about them. But on one occasion when a young 
man dropped his hat overboard and jumped over after it, he 
had no sooner got to his hat and grabbed it than two sharks 
made for him with almost lightning speed, took him down 
under and that was the last ever seen of the poor fellow. It 
was in the afternoon of a line day; a boat was lowered and 
manned in about two minutes, and waited around for a glimpse 
of the unfortunate fellow, but the sharks never let him come to 
the surface again. I never can forget that, as it seemed to 
make a sad impression on all of the nine *or ten hundred men 
that formed the crew of the Wabash. 

On another occasion we lost a man overboard at the same 
place, from the U. S. Sloop of War Susquehanna, to which I 
had been transferred. It was dark and we were weighing an- 



24 EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. 

chor to go to Hilton Head. He got on the anchor to fasten it 
when brought to the bow of the vessel, and when they all 
thought it secured and took away the tackle it turned out 
throwing the poor fellow overboard, never to be seen again. 
When the anchor was reported up, the ship's engine was started 
ahead under one bell, and whether he was struck by the paddles 
(for the Susquehanna was a side wheeler) or seized by a shark, 
will never be known. 

Some foolish persons put great stress on the common rumor 
that a shark must turn on his back before he can bite. That 
is all bosh. A shark in the water is in his elements, while a 
person is out of his. A person swimming along the surface of 
the water cannot see a shark that is traveling along about five 
or six feet below the surface. 

While spending a few days at Atlantic City, about three 
years ago, I went out to give a little exhibition swim. The 
evening was a dead calm, with scarcely a ripple on the water. 
I made up my mind that if their were any sharks in the neigh- 
borhood they would be around near the shore. And sure 
enough, after being in the water from five to ten minutes 
ploughing along at a rapid rate, all at once Mr. Chriss Bradford, 
who accompanied me in a boat and was some little distance 
ahead, came to a stand-still on seeing a big shark lying on the 
surface of the water. Pointing to where his shark-ship lay he 
told me that there was a large shark. I took a look in the di- 
rection of his shark-ship. It did not take me long to make up^ 
my mind what to do. I made a few powerful strokes which 
soon landed me at the stern of Mr. Bradford's boat. As I got 
in the boat Mr. shark dispersed under the surface and did not 
show himself again. The board walk and beach was lined 
with people, and when I got into the boat they all thought I 
was exhausted. They could see no shark that far off as only 
his two fins showed out of water. Mr. Bradford said he thought 
it was about twelve feet long, judging by the distance between 



EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. 25 

his fins. When I was approaching him he lay still on the 
surface of the water, as if taking stock of me, and as I was 
going towards him I suppose he thought it as well to wait and 
let me come up to him, or probably he was not very hungry at 
the time. 

In 1875 I gave a little exhibition, by swimming from the 
inlet to the excursion house in less than one hour, and slack 
low water at that, and while crossing the bar nearly opposite 
the U. S. Hotel, one of my feet struck bottom which scared me 
badly, for it was my first swim at Atlantic City, and I was told 
previously that there were sharks about there. Those who ac- 
companied me in a row boat said I jumped nearly out of the 
water. Before I started on this swim the captain of the Life 
Guards was informed of my intentions, so that he or his men 
would not interfere with me. W T hen further informed that I 
intended to make it inside of one hour, the Captain surveyed 
me from head to foot two or three times and said that I could 
not do it, not in that time any how, but I accomplished it in 
fifty-eight minutes from the instant I leaped over at the inlet. 
Several thousand people followed me around by walking, and 
in carriages along the beach, and had a carriage waiting for 
me as I stepped on shore to convey me to a hotel. It was with 
difficulty that I got through the throng at the beach, for that 
was only about a week after my first swim with J. B. Johnson. 
I was the second person that had ever made that swim, not so 
much on account of the distance, but having two rough bars to 
cross, which, is a difficult job, as it is usually very rough at 
those places. Harry Ger, England's champion, was the man 
who accomplished it two years previous, and it seems singular 
that we both did it in fifty-eight minutes. 

While laying at Pt. A Petra, I undertook to accomplish a 
very foolish and hazardous feat. As I had been on board the 
Sloop of War Powhattan for over a year without, I might say, 
having my foot on shore, I began to think that it was nearly 



26 EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. 

time I had a run round, and accordingly I fixed it all right 
with the sentinel on the forecastle to turn his head to one side 
a little while I would swim off from the bow of the vessel. 
1 lowered myself down to the water's edge by the anchor cable, 
and struck out for the shore, and in throwing my arms for- 
ward my loose blouse sleeve stopped my progress considerable ; 
and when the big boots 1 had on filled with water I felt as if I 
had about fifty pounds on each foot, and felt more like sinking 
and coming to anchor at the bottom of the sea than like swim- 
ming. It was then I saw how a person can be easily mistaken 
in undertaking to swim with clothes on, particularly a pair of 
boots. Although we were scarcely half a mile from the shore 
I soon made up my mind to return to the ship. 

While out cruising about the West Indies the Powhattan 
went into the Island of Guadaloupe, to coal ship, and while 
there the boys on board had a good chance to bathe evenings, 
after finishing coaling. All hands were piped into swim every 
evening. It was while there that I made my first challenge, 
as there were a lew good swimmers on board, but none of them 
would accept my challenge to swim for speed. 

Now, suppose a ship or a steamer is going along- at a good 
speed and a person falls overboard, what show is there of saving 
the person's life if he or she cannot swim a few strokes ? If 
the person cannot swim at all then they must drown, whereas, 
being able to paddle about for a few minutes gives a chance 
for the vessel to be stopped and a boat lowered. No person 
has any business about the water that cannot swim a little. 
It takes no mean swimmer to keep up that falls overboard oft 
a vessel with all their clothes on, while the ship is tacking 
about, or a steamer stopped and backed. I have seen several 
such cases. Once in going to Baltimore by steamer when a 
little below Chester, a drunken man jumped overboard. As he 
was drunk and deliberately jumped over, I thought I would 
not risk my life by jumping over after him; but I assisted in 



EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. 



27 



launching a boat, which occupied about twenty minutes. It is 
said that being so drunk was what saved him. There was no 
swim in him, but he floated all that time. Two or three min- 
utes more and he would have drowned. 




INSTRUCTIONS FOR DIVING 

WITHOUT A DIVING BELL. 



I will simply give my own way of working- at that. I have 
a pole from twenty-five to thirty feet long-, with an iron prong 
at the bottom, by means of which I can tell pretty near 
what I strike at the bottom of the river. I sink it into the 
mud, if a soft bottom, and either make the top end fast to my 
boat, or get some one to steady it while I dive and pull myself 
down to the bottom. By using the pole I always know wliere 
I am going to. But it is not safe diving about wharves and 
piers without the pole, for a person diving without it cannot 
always tell where they are going or what they will strike their 
heads against below. I can, by means of the pole, dive in 
twenty-five feet and make fast to anything I want to take out. 
I do not care so much for the pole in coming to the surface; 
for in coming near the surface, if I am coming up all right, I 
can see a brightness or a glimmer of light through the water. 
But, on the other hand, if coming up under the bottom of a 
boat it is the reverse, it is complete darkness and I get away 
from it to where I can see the glimmer of light above me 
where I know I am all right. I have had occasion sometimes 
to take a pick down with me to kind of pick the thing T am 
after loose, but on going down without weighting myself I 
found that I could not pick up much without strapping about 
twenty or twenty-five pounds around my waist. A person 



EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. 29 

cannot stop down at the bottom without holding- on to some- 
thing- there. That is, while they hold their breath. Of course, 
it is different with a person who is drowning, they fill up with 
water inside and that is why they remain down on the bottom, 
but while they hold their breath it is impossible for a person 
to stop down without holding themselves there. The minute 
that I take hold of a grubbing hoe or pick, and start picking 
a thing out, that instant my feet fly up towards the surface, 
while the weight of the grubbing hoe in my hands keeps my 
head downwards. That makes good what I tell persons when 
learning to swim, that they can easily start swimming under 
the surface of the water right off, and by that means in a very 
short time be able to swim on the surface. It is only the 
weight of the head of a person that prevents them from swim- 
ming right off, without learning, particularly as learners think 
that their heads should be ever so far out of the water. When 
I first went down twenty feet I began to feel the heavy pressure 
on the head; and when down twenty-five feet it increased 
twenty per cent. It is very trying on the lungs and head at 
twenty-five feet. The deepest that I have tried yet is thirty 
feet, but I think I can go still deeper. It is not alone just the 
going down that distance, but the stopping down there a min- 
ute or so hunting an article or trying to pry a thing out of the 
mud is the worse part of it. I believe that if I was to attempt 
to get anything out of about thirty-five feet of water that I 
would come up with blood running out of my nose and mouth, 
and with blood -.shot eyes. It would take a large sum of mon- 
ey to tempt me to dive in over forty feet of water, though I 
have heard of men out in the Indies diving in about fifty feet. 
Probably where a party has a great deal of practice the whole 
year round at the business they can stand it, as practice makes 
perfect. 

Diving is a very risky business, and the man who follows it 
cannot be too careful of himself, particularly about wharves 



30 EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. 

and piers, as very often there are ends of wharf logs projecting 
out a few feet under the surface of the water. Then there are 
spikes sticking out where the logs have been knocked off and 
left the point ends in the inside logs. Again, there is the 
danger of sharp pointed bars of various kinds falling over off 
the wharf and hanging itself endwise in the mud below, with 
one end sticking up to run into a person's head that is not 
cautious how he dives. I would not take any money to risk my- 
self diving without my long pole, for then I know exactly 
where I am going, and also know when near the bottom, so 
that I go very slow and cautious when I find myself within 
three or four feet from the bottom. It is well to have marks 
on the pole about four or five feet from the bottom that you 
can tell by the feel of the hand when you reach it. Some twine 
wrapped around it would do for a mark. On the pole I use I 
have an iron rod four feet long at the bottom and when I come 
to where it is spliced I know I am near the bottom. 



SAILING AND ROWING. 



Though not a professional at either sailing or rowing, I feel 
that I ought to give a little advice to those who know nothing, 
or next to nothing, about either one. 

A person that wishes to learn to sail a boat should try his 
hand with what is known as a safe one, with a small sail. 
He should avoid undertaking to sail what is known as a cranky 
boat. See that the rigging is in good order before starting 
out, examine every line carefully, to see whether they are able 
to stand a little blow. Never take stone or any heavy article 
that will sink in the water, for ballast. Wood is about the 
best ballast, so that if a boat upsets it will not sink deep in 
the water, or to the bottom. In sailing do not try to run 
across a steamer's or sailing vessel's bow without you are sure 
beyond doubt that you can do it with safety. It is best to take 
your time and let them pass. It don't do to be in too big a 
hurry at any time. 

I ran a race with a ship on the Delaware about two years 
ago. It was sailing before a stiff Southwester, and I was in a 
fishing skiff headed Northward. My mast top cleared the 
ship's stays by a few inches, and as I shot out from under the 
ship's bow I saw the ship's company rush forward and look 
over her port bow to see whether I cleared or was run down. 
It was certainly a hairbreadth escape, for the'ship was making 
at least twelve miles per hour. When I am out sailing now I 
give ships and steamers a wide berth, as I do cars when on 
shore. 



32 EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. 

A person sailing along in a small boat and seeing a storm 
approaching in the shape of a black cloud, when it darkens the 
earth, should stop and take in sail, and wait a few minutes to 
see how severe it sets in, for when it strikes the boat you can- 
not always do it. When sailing along with the wind blowing 
from one quarter and you see a heavy black cloud approaching 
from another be sure if you value your life to take in sail, for 
a squall that comes in that manner is generally a severe one. 
No matter what your hurry is, it is best to stop and let your 
hurry pass on such occasions. Parties going out in small boats 
are very apt to neglect taking a lamp along, so that if caught 
out in the dark they are in great danger of being run down by 
vessels and steamers. A person so caught out at night with- 
out a lamp should keep as close to the shore as possible. 

Being caught out in a thick fog is also dangerous, and all 
boats should carry a horn that they could blow to warn off an 
approaching vessel. It is no very pleasant thing to be out in 
a fog without a compass, when you cannot tell which way you 
are going, or hear some familiar noise to be guided by. In 
such a fix a person having an anchor line long enough to reach 
the bottom of the river, can set themselves right every few 
minutes by dropping anchor and letting the boat swing around 
to the tide— knowing which way the tide is running at the 
time will give you a little idea which way to strike out, but it 
has to be repeated often; for a person in a fog, with no object 
or land in view to be guided by, is very likely to be turning 
round and round. Another good plan is — if you want to go 
along with the tide and risk being run down — if you have a 
heavy article in the boat that will sink, the larger the better, 
make it fast to your anchor and lower it into the water eight 
or ten feet if in deep water, and if you are in the channel 
when you do it you need not be afraid of leaving it, because 
in time of a fog it is always a calm and any heavy article such 
as a stone or piece of wood will sink. A sheet-iron bucket* 



EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. 33 

filled first with water and then let down, will hold a boat in 
the strongest current. A person can easily test that any time. 
I can start a boat adrift at Chester, on a calm day, fixed in 
that manner, on a young flood tide, and stake any amount on 
its reaching Philadelphia if not interfered with. If a large 
stone, that would weigh about one hundred pounds, were fixed 
on the anchor-rope and lowered eight or ten feet into the water, 
and the boat be given a start in the channel, it will take a very 
brisk wind to drive that boat out of the ship channel; but a 
person drifting in a fog in that manner should have a horn to 
be blowing at intervals of three or five minutes. The early 
spring of the year is the main time for fogs. A person who 
follows the water for a few years soon learns to judge pretty 
Well of the weather, and can generally tell a few hours ahead 
how it is going to turn out. 

During the fall, winter and spring, when it clears up after a 
rain or snow, and the wind is shifting from East to South, one 
out in a small boat had better look out, for from the South you 
will soon have a stiff Western wind, and very often too stiff 
for small crafts. During the summer, when there is a dead 
calm and the sun throws a kind of piercing heat, a little bit 
hotter than usual, look out for a sudden, heavy squall, generally 
from the Western sky. 

A person wishing to go any considerable distance by boat 
should always make it a point to have the tide with him both 
ways; then he will not meet with disappointment, as is often 
the case when parties depend altogether on the wind holding 
out. When the wind shifts tc Northeast it can generally be 
depended upon to last from one to three days, but not often 
over one day from the Westward, excepting in the winter time, 
when it blows the greater part of the time from that quarter. 

A great many people are under the impression that it is the 
moon that governs the tides, and that at the time of a full 
moon we have the large tides. This is a mistake as far as the 



34 EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. 

Delaware river is concerned, for I have noticed that the tides 
are governed by the winds. A Westerly wind for two or three 
days in succession will cause very small tides, and an Easterly 
wind is sure to make big tides. Every now and then there 
comes a tide that raises about three feet above the usual run of 
good tides, but we never get two such tides following in suc- 
cession. I mention this so that persons will not be deceived 
about the high tides and leave their boats away up on one of 
those very high tides so that when they want to use it the next 
high water they may not be disappointed by not finding water 
enough to float it off . I have often been fooled in that manner, 
and it will fool any one who does not have his boat always 
where he can get it off at a medium tide. 

Never use the center-board while sailing any way free. It 
is only to be used in beating to windward. - Particularly in 
running before a gale of wind you should have your center- 
board up, so that your boat will be fairly carried along by the 
wind. A heavy blow cannot affect a person one-half so much 
when running before it as when he undertakes to beat against 
it. In running before the wind, or a heavy blow, be sure that 
you have a strong sheet-rope, because in a heavy storm it is far 
better to have the mast carried away than to have the sheet-rope 
break. It is but a few days since I was caught in a severe 
storm, with sail up, on a little craft, and while ploughing the 
water at the rate of about fifteen miles an hour, my only fear 
was in the sheet-rope giving away. (This I mean for a small 
boat and in a sort of a gale.) In such a case a small boat 
would be apt to swamp the instant that the rope broke. 

Rowing looks very simple, but a person who takes hold of 
the oars f er the first few times finds that it is not so easy to row 
or handle the oars as one would imagine by seeing an expert 
rowing. It is easy telling a green hand at the oars. When 
he attempts to row he raises his oars from two to three feet out 
of the water, though he may be rowing in smooth water, and 



EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. 35 

if ever you saw a worm fence he would put you in mind of one. 
Oh the other hand, it is easy to tell a good rower as soon as he 
takes the oars in hand and makes one or two strokes. A good 
rower will raise his oars out of the water, or above the water, 
according to the roughness of it. In a smooth surface he barely 
raises the blades out, but skims the surface with the feathered 
oars. In a rough sea he raises the oars in proportion to the 
roughness of the water. In a rough sea way it is necessary to 
raise the oars pretty well out of the water, so as not to miss a 
stroke. Another great point about rowing is how you balance 
your boat. Every row boat should have two oar-lock places, 
one right in the center and the other about three feet back 
towards the stern, so that when there is but one person in the 
•boat, and no other ballast, he puts his oar-locks in the after 
oar-lock places; and with another person, or other ballast, he 
uses the forward holes. It is well for a person, as soon as he 
learns to row good sitting with his back to the bow of the boat, 
to learn to row fisherman style — that is, by facing the bow; and 
whsn in a fishing skiff they generally stand up at it. A man 
who learns to row good that way can force a boat ahead through 
a heavy wind much better thau by the regular way of rowing. 
A person rowing that way, and putting one foot back against 
the seat, or something of the kind, has great power with his 
oars. Besides, it is a relief to change sometimes and have a 
stand up to row. A great point with beginners, too, is this: 
By being ignorant of the workings of the tide they often give 
themselves a great deal of unnecessary pulling by getting out 
in a strong tide and having to pull against it. In facing a 
strong tide one should hug the shore as close as possible, and 
when going with the tide he should get out into the strongest 
part of it — that is, always in what is known as the ship channel. 
This rule should be adopted in either rowing or sailing. 

Another very important point to be borne in mind by par- 
ties out sailing is to be sure and keep the anchor secured taut 



36 EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. 

in the boat, so that in case of the boat upsetting in a storm 
the anchor will not drop to the bottom and keep the boat bot- 
tom up. The handiest way would be to have a strap across 
the bow, running through the head of the anchor so as to hold 
it in place. If the boat upsets it is necessary for it to be able 
to drift, whereas if the anchor falls it will hold it there and 
thus endanger the lives of those having it in charge by dragging 
the boat under. 

Signal Lights. — It is well for those who go out in small 
boats to understand the meaning of a ship's lights, aad the 
course they are taking, so as to keep out of their way. The 
following are the rules for the guidance of vessels, in the matter 
of lights: 

All sea-going steam vessels shall, between sunset and sunrise, 
exhibit the following lights : 

A bright white light at the foremast head~. 

A green light on the starboard side. 

A red light on the port side. 

Steam vessels, under sail only, are not to carry their mast- 
head lights. 




TREATMENT OF THE DROWNING. 



The Philadelphia Board of Health has issued the following 
directions for the restoration of persons apparently drowned, 
which are the result of extensive inquiries made by the Royal 
National Life Boat Institution amongst medical men through- 
out Great Britain : 

FIRST. 

Send immediately for medical assistance, blankets and dry 
clothing, but proceed to treat the patient instantly on the spot, 
in the open air, with the face downwards, whether on shore or 
afloat; exposing the face, neck and chest to the wind, except in 
severe weather, and removing all tight clothing from the neck 
and chest, especially the braces. 

The points to be aimed at are — first and immediately, the 
restoration of breathing; and secondly, after breathing is re- 
stored, promotion of warmth and circulation. 

The efforts to restore breathing must be commenced im- 
mediately and energetically, and persevered in for one or two 
hours, or until a medical man has pronounced that life is ex- 
tinct. Efforts to promote warmth and circulation beyond re- 
moving the wet clothes and drying the skin must not be made 
until the first appearance of natural breathing. For if cir- 
culation of the blood be induced before breathing has recom- 
menced, the restoration to life will be endangered. 

SECOND — TO RESTORE BREATHING. 

To Clear the Throat — Place the patient on the floor or 
ground with the face downwards, and one of the arms under 



38 EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. 

the forehead, in which position all fluids will more readily es- 
cape by the mouth, and the tongue itself will fall forward, 
leaving the entrance into the windpipe free. Assist this 
operation by wiping and cleansing the mouth. 

If satisfactory breathing commences, use the treatment de- 
scribed below to promote warmth. If there be only slight 
breathing — or no breathing — or if the breathing fail, then — 

To Excite Breathing — Turn the patient well and instantly on 
the side, supporting the head, and — 

Excite the nostrils with snuff, hartshorn, and smelling salts, 
or tickle the throat with a feather, &c, if they are at hand. 
Rub the chest and face warm, and dash cold water, or cold and 
hot water alternately, on them. 

If there be no success, lose not a moment, but instantly — 

To Imitate Breathings — Replace the patient on the face, 
raising and supporting the chest well on a folded coat or other 
article of dress. 

Turn the body very gently on the side, and, a little beyond, 
and then briskly on the face and back again, repeating these 
measures cautiously, efficiently and perseveringly about fifteen 
times in the minute, or once every four or five seconds, occa- 
sionally varying the side. 

[By placing the patient on the chest, the weight of the body 
forces the air out; when turned on the side, this pressure is re- 
moved and air enters the chest.] 

On each occasion that the body is replaced on the face, make 
uniform but efficient pressure with brisk movement on the 
back between and below the shoulder blades or bones on each 
side, removing the pressure immediately before turning the 
body on the side. During the whole of the operation attend 
solely to the movements of the head, and of the arm placed 
under it. 

[The first measure increases the Expiration, the second com- 
mences Inspiration.] 



EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. 39 

%* The result is Respiration or Natural Breathing — and if 
not too late, Life. 

Whilst the above operations are being proceeded with, dry 
the hands and feet, and as soon as dry clothing or blankets can 
be procured strip the body and cover, or gradually reclothe it, 
but taking care not to interfere with the efforts to restore 
breathing. 

*.THIRD. 

Should these efforts not prove successful in the course of 
from two to five minutes, proceed to imitate breathing be Dr. 
Sylvester's method, as follows: 

Placa the patient on the back of a flat surface; inclined a 
little upwards from the feet; raise and support the head and 
shoulders on a firm cushion or folded article of dress placed 
under the shoulder-blades. 

Draw forward the patient's tongue and keep it projecting 
beyond the lips ; an elastic band, over the tongue and under the 
chin will answer this purpose, or a piece of string or tape may 
be tied around them, or, by raising the lower jaw the teeth 
may be made to retain the tongue in that position. Remove 
all tight clothing from about the neck and chest, especially the 
braces. 

To Imitate the Movements of Breathing— Standing at the 
patient's head, grasp the arms just above the elbow, and draw 
the arms gently and steadily upwards above the head, and keep 
them stretched upwards for two seconds. [By this means air 
is drawn into the lungs.] Then turn down the patient's arms, 
and press them gently and firmly for two seconds against th e 
sides of the chest. [By this means air is pressed out of the 
lungs.] 

Repeat these measures alternately, deliberately, and perse- 
veringly, about fifteen timas in a minute, until a spontaneous 
effort to respire is seen, then cease and proceed to induce cir- 
culation and warmth. 



40 EVERYBODY A SWIMMER, 

FOURTH — TREATMENT AFTER NATURAL BREATHING HAS 
BEEN RESTORED. 

To Promote Warmth and Circulation — Commence rubbing 
the limbs upwards, with firm grasping- pressure and energy, 
using handkerchiefs, &c. [By this measure the blood is pro- 
pelled along the veins towards the heart.] 

The friction must be continued under the blanket or over the 
dry clothing. 

Promote the warmth of the body by the application of hot 
flannels, bottles or bladders of hot water, heated bricks, &c, 
to the pit of the stomach, the arm-pits, between the thighs and 
to the soles of the feet. 

If the patient has been carried to a house after respiration 
has been restored, be careful to let the air play freely about the 
room. 

On the restoration of life, a teaspoonful of warm water should 
be given; and then, if the power of swallowing has returned, 
small quantities of wine, warm brandy and water, or coffee 
should be administered. The patient should be kept in bed 
and a disposition to sleep encouraged. 

General Observations — The above treatment should be perse" 
vered in for some hours, as it is an erroneous opinion that per- 
sons are irrecoverable because life does not soon make its ap- 
pearance, persons having been restored after persevering for 
many hours. 

APPEARANCES WHICH GENERALLY ACCOMPANY DEATH. 

Breathing and the heart's action cease entirely; the eyelids 
are generally half closed; the pupils dilated; the tongue ap- 
proaches to the under edges of the lips, and these, as well as 
the nostrils, are covered with a frothy mucus. Coldness and pal" 
lor of surface increase. 

cautions. 

Prevent unnecessary crowding of persons round the body, 
especially if in an apartment. 



41 



EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. 



Avoid rough usage, and do not allow the body to remain on 
the back, unless the tongue is secured. 

Under no circumstance hold the body up by the feet. 

On no account place the body in a warm bath, unless under 
medical direction, and even then it should be employed as a 
momentary excitant. 



COYLE AS A SWIMMER. 



To show what was thought of Thomas Coyle as a swimmer 
at the time of the great swimming match between him and 
Johnson, the English champion, in 1875, the following is ap- 
pended from the Philadelphia City Item of that time, being an 
account of a trial swim previous to the great contest : 

The excursion down the river was thoroughly enjoyed by the 
passengers, and when the steamer arrived at Chester she was 
greeted with loud huzzas from an immense number of Coyle' s 
friends on the wharf. After lying too for some time, the 
"Neilson" put off from the Water-works' wharf, and after 
drifting a short distance, Coyle got in a small boat, accompan- 
ied by his trainer, Mr. Brooks; his brother, Edward Coyle, and 
a City Item reporter, and at eighteen minutes after three he 
made a dive, and then commented his great feat, which, if ac- 
complished, would stand unparalleled. But the general opin- 
ion was that the feat could not be done, owing to the coldness 
of the water, caused by the late heavy rains, and the head 
wind, which was blowing quite a gale. But still the plucky 
and undaunted Coyle tried it, and as he said that he thought 
he could not do it, in consequence of the coldness of the water 
and the heavy head-wind, yet he would make a good attempt. 
Coyle commenced swimming 38 strokes to the minute, and 
kept increasing them until he left the water. Opposite the 
Lazaretto, which is four miles from the place of starting, he 
had been in the water just fifty minutes, and feeling very good. 
On the wharf, in front of the physicians' headquarters, he was 



43 EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. 

greeted with great applause by a large number of persons and 
waving of hankerchiefs by the ladies. 

At Lodge's Point he took his first drink, brandy and Jamai- 
ca ginger, which was carefully prepared and given to him by his 
trainer, William Brooks. This seemed to stimulate him con- 
siderably, for he commenced to strike out at a more rapid pace 
increasing his stroke to forty- two a minute. 

This rapid swimming was kept up for some time, contrary 
to the advice given him by his trainer, and although Coyle was 
looking as fresh, as when he started, still Mr. Brooks enter- 
tained grave doubts if this increase of speed would not be a 
serious drawback in the accomplishment of the feat. 

At the lower end of League Island the wind, which contin- 
ued to blow very heavy, shifted to the westward and caused 
the sea to become very rough making the swimming very dif- 
ficult. At this time another drink was given him, and others 
at intervals of twenty minutes. 

At quarter of six, when about a mile south of the Block 
House, and just as Coyle had taken a drink and finished his 
eighth mile, his trainer caught him by the arm and insisted 
on him getting into the boat, much to the chagrin of Coyle, 
who said, "I feel good enough; let me make it." In getting 
in the boat he required no assistance, and with the exception 
of a slight stupor from the several drinks his condition was ex- 
cellent. 

On landing at Gloucester from the tugboat Stag he was the 
recipient of unbounded enthusiasm, and it was with great dif- 
ficulty he reached the hotel. After repeated calls from his 
friends to show himself and say something to them, he was 
raised on the bar and given three times three cheers with plenty 
of "tigers." After a few remarks by his trainer, Mr. Brooks, 
Mr. Coyle said: "I thank you, my dear friends, for this kind 
favor. I did not expect to swim the distance, after I found out 
how cold the water was. It is too cold. I could have swam 



EVERYBODY A SWIMMER. 44 

further, but Mr. Brooks would not let me." At this time some 
enthusiastic admirer proposed three cheers for Coyle and the 
American Flag, which were given heartily. 

Mr. Coyle continuing, said, "I can make it I know, but every- 
thing was against me^to-day. I thank you again my friends, 
and I bid you good-bye." 

After this neat little speech he was compelled to go through 
a round of hand-shaking, which was kept up for a long while, 
he finally reached his own room after great difficulty; and after 
a few moment's talking with his brother, laid down and was 
soon asleep. 

This exertion of Mr. Coyle yesterday stamps him as a man 
of great endurance, and unquestionably one of the best swim- 
mers in the world. It is undoubtedly beyond any man's ability 
to do more than Mr. Coyle yesterday, and probably he could 
have gone the whole distance. This will certainly not affect 
his chances for the championship on the 24th instant. 



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